


It's what a family does

by sugarandspace



Series: 3B fics [8]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Addiction, Gen, Post-Episode: s03e12 Original Sin, Protective Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 16:28:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18076910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarandspace/pseuds/sugarandspace
Summary: Izzy’s hands are shaking when she walks towards Alec’s office.





	It's what a family does

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by that clip with Simon and Izzy when Simon says “and I didn’t know how to explain everything to your brother”.
> 
> Also please be kind, this is the first time I'm writing something that's not from Alec or Magnus' POV

Izzy’s hands are shaking when she walks towards Alec’s office. 

It has little to do with the shocking return of Clary, and a lot to do with the fact that she had fangs deep in her wrist just a few hours ago. Maybe it’s the vampire venom clouding her thoughts, or maybe it’s her desire for people to finally be honest, but she’s on her way to talk to her brothers. If they won’t talk to her, she’s going to lead by example. 

She’s not going to be one to add to the the secrets that are hanging between them.

Earlier, when Clary had left the Institute to have dinner with Luke and when Alec had disappeared into his office, Izzy had asked Jace to meet her there in ten minutes. She’d used that ten minutes to go outside to gather her thoughts, to figure out what she should say.

But the ten minutes were now up, and she walks to her brother’s office feeling both at peace with her decision, and nervous to hear her brothers’ reactions. She knows that they won’t be happy.  

She knocks on the door and hears Alec invite her in. She takes one last deep breath before she puts a smile on her face and turns the handle. 

Jace is already in the office, sitting on the chair across the desk while Alec sits on his chair behind it. They both look suspicious, clearly having no idea why she wanted them here. 

“You wanted to talk?” Alec asks as Izzy closes the door behind her, locking it to ensure their privacy. The move makes Jace raise his eyebrows.

“What’s this about, Izzy?”

“We do need to talk,” she says simply, sitting down to the chair next to Jace’s. She has no idea what would be the best way to approach the topic, but she decides not the dwell on it for too long. 

“You two are not okay,” she starts, and immediately both of her brothers start objecting, but she cuts them off. “And neither am I.”

That shuts them up, their apprehension turning to concern. 

“What do you mean?” Alec asks, leaning forward in his chair. Jace reaches to put a hand on her arm, and he looks even more concerned when he realises that she’s shaking. 

“I went on a mission,” Izzy explains, deciding to just tell them. “And got bitten by a vampire.”

“Izzy,” Jace breathes out and she knows that he understands what it means. Alec’s reaction is stronger, his mind immediately in the Head of the Institute mode.

“What mission was it?” He asks, his expression hard. “And who were you with? Why didn’t they cover your back?”

“It wasn’t an Institute mission,” she explains, her tone calm. “There were no other Shadowhunters. I went with Simon.”

“Simon?!” Jace asks, anger taking over his expression too. But it’s a different kind of anger, less controlled and more emotion-based.  “Did Simon feed from you?”

“It was a difficult situation, and there were no other options,” Izzy explains, trying to calm her brothers down before they run from the room to track Simon who might still be in the Institute. 

She looks at Jace, who’s shaking his head in disbelief, the news probably too much for him after the whirlwind the day has already been to him. And she looks at Alec, who has his elbows on the desk, his head in his hands. He looks defeated, like the world is getting too heavy for him to carry on his shoulders. She hates to be one to add to that weight, but she also knows that they need the honesty. She can only wish that Alec would allow her to carry some of the burden too.

“What happened?” Alec asks, raising his head to look at Izzy. His tone is no longer angry, it has taken the softer tone Izzy has never heard him use outside of family. And well, Magnus, but she guesses Magnus kind of falls to that category now too.

“We went to the sewers to find a vampire who would have knowledge about the mark on his forehead. We found him, and he told us that the Seelie Queen would know how to remove the mark, so we went there,” Izzy talks, telling them what happened without stretching the story. It’s best to just get it out now that she’s started. “Simon went through the ritual but it left him on the brink of death - he was going to die if he didn’t feed.”

“So you let him feed from you,” Jace finishes, and his tone is no longer angry either. It’s understanding, and Izzy knows that her brothers get why she did what she did and don’t judge her for it. 

“I did,” she confirms, her head held high. Because she knows she did the right thing. “If I wouldn’t have, he would have died. I realise the situation this has put me into but I really had no other choice.”

“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Jace says, and the hand on her arm squeezes her gently.

“It’s okay,” she says, putting on a reassuring smile. A smile that doesn’t feel forced. She truly does believe that she’ll be able to resist the temptation and get through the withdrawals this time too. It will be difficult, but she knows she can do it. “It’s nothing I haven’t been through before.”

“I couldn’t help the last time,” Alec says, and Izzy looks at him with sadness in her eyes. “But if there’s anything we can do to help you - and I mean anything - you let us know, okay?”

Jace nods beside her and Izzy’s heart fills with warmth. She’s always wanted them to believe that even though she is the youngest, she doesn’t need her brothers to look after her. She’s very much capable of taking care of herself, and even kicking her brothers’ asses in training every now and then. But it makes her feel loved to see the care in their eyes and to hear it in their words. She’ll be alright, her big brothers are going to be there for her.

“You did help the last time,” Izzy says, because he did. “I just didn’t want to accept the help. This time will be different. I wanted to be honest with the both of you because I feel like this family has too many secrets already. I’m letting you help me, and I would love it if you two would let me return the favor.”

They both look guilty, realising what Izzy is getting at by telling them about her mission. 

“I don’t need a parabatai bond to know that the both of you aren’t okay. On top of your own problems you’re worrying about each other. I’m worried about you both. We need to talk, that’s what a family does. We are a team, but we are not working as one.”

“You are right. We’ve been through so much lately. All of us have,” Jace says and shoots a pointed look towards Alec, who Izzy knows must be struggling with the knowledge that he’s part of the reason Magnus gave up his powers.  

Someone comes knocking on Alec’s office door then, and their conversation dies out. But the seed has been planted, and Izzy knows that telling her brothers about what happened was the right call when Alec ambushes her later that night to have a talk about how things are going with Magnus, and when she receives a text from Jace the following morning telling her that he can’t sleep. 

They are also curious to know how she’s feeling, and she replies with words that are honest.

They are working as a team again, and it brings some much needed normality back to their lives.

**Author's Note:**

> [Join me tonight when I watch the new episode and scream about it on tumblr!](https://www.sugarandspace.tumblr.com)


End file.
